In 2011, rising costs of fertilizers and pesticides prompted Louella Garcia to make a transformative decision for her farming operation in Davao City, Philippines. Rather than viewing this as merely a cost-cutting measure, Garcia embraced the transition as an opportunity to build a truly sustainable agricultural system that would benefit both the environment and her community.
“I used to do conventional farming, but it was expensive,” Garcia tells Sustainable Food Business. After attending a seminar on natural farming methods, she implemented comprehensive organic practices that not only transformed her operation’s productivity but also established the foundation for what would become an integrated sustainability model. However, the transition created an unexpected challenge in finding retail buyers for her organic produce.
To ensure no ingredients would go to waste, Garcia found an innovative solution that would complete her sustainability vision. “I said, ‘If they don’t buy my produce, I’ll just cook it’. From there, Huni Farm was born,” she explains.
Today, the operation functions as an integrated three-part system: producing organic vegetables, cage-free eggs, and livestock on the farm; selling fresh produce, artisan breads, and other products directly to customers; and operating a restaurant serving farm-to-table meals. This comprehensive approach created a closed-loop system where every component contributes to environmental regeneration and resource efficiency, making Huni Farm a notable example of how small-scale operations can implement meaningful sustainability practices while maintaining commercial viability.
From farm gate to restaurant table: sustainable menu practices
Initially, Garcia’s attempts to sell to local establishments in 2011 met with limited success, despite offering competitive pricing. “I went to all the establishments here in Davao, but it was difficult to sell my produce, even when I was explaining that it’s organic and my price is low,” she recalls.
Years later, the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly validated Garcia’s sustainable approach as health consciousness increased among consumers. “The restaurant was very busy during COVID time, where we operated 100% online,” she explains. “We found that many people adopted healthy eating and whole foods, so a lot of people wanted to buy from us.”
Building on this success, Huni Farm’s restaurant now operates on principles of seasonal adaptation and minimal waste. Menu offerings change based on farm production cycles, which ensures optimal use of available crops while reducing transportation and storage requirements. “We always change our menu because it depends on our farm produce,” Garcia explains. “We have to use what is available in the farm.”
Additionally, customers can purchase fresh produce directly from the farm, including vegetables, eggs and bread. While the farm’s produce is 100% organic, Garcia acknowledges that maintaining this standard across all restaurant operations has proven challenging. “Our bread, for example, is not organic because we don’t produce wheat here in the Philippines,” she notes.
Navigating consumer awareness and market expectations
Like many organic producers, Huni Farm faces the ongoing challenge of bridging the gap between consumer expectations and the characteristics of fresh, preservative-free products. This challenge becomes particularly evident in their production approach.
Production schedules for packaged goods prioritize freshness over extended shelf life, with weekly baking cycles ensuring products remain preservative-free. “We make sure that all our packaged goods are sold before we produce again,” Garcia explains.
Consequently, Garcia’s interactions with customers often involve explaining the natural lifecycle of fresh products. “People don’t know that once you pick a fruit, it will start to rot,” she observes. “When you bake bread today, it will start to stale tomorrow. They don’t know that already because they’re so used to processed food that can last months, even years.”
Furthermore, efforts to supply major grocery stores have revealed structural challenges between organic production realities and retail requirements. Retailers typically require consistent shelf stocking and organic certification, while maintaining standards for product appearance and availability. Meanwhile, seasonal production cycles and weather conditions can affect harvest volumes, creating challenges with retail systems designed for consistent supply.
“They want it organic but they do not want to adjust to my situation,” Garcia says. “They want me to adjust to their demands. That is not the way it is when you want an organic product.”
Huni Farm’s comprehensive circular sustainability practices
Despite these market challenges, Huni Farm operates on what Garcia describes as a “360-degree” circular model, where waste from one component becomes input for another. Since 2011, the farm’s composting system has transformed excess produce and organic waste into fertilizer, creating a self-sustaining nutrient cycle that eliminates external fertilizer dependencies.
The sustainability model extends to comprehensive waste management across operations. “We require customers to make bookings in advance, so that we know how much food to prepare,” Garcia explains. “This way, we don’t have any waste from our cooked food.” Similarly, for vegetable production, seasonal abundance that cannot be sold commercially is systematically integrated into the composting program. “If I cannot sell all of it, it’s not really that wasteful because the excess is composted for our fertilizer,” Garcia notes.
Beyond waste management, the farm’s water management and soil health practices prioritize natural ecosystem balance over chemical interventions. “As a natural farm, we do not use any chemicals,” Garcia explains. “So the way I prevent pests from going to my products is balanced ecology.”
However, environmental responsibility sometimes requires creative problem-solving when consumer preferences conflict with sustainable practices. Most produce is wrapped in traditional banana leaf, eliminating plastic packaging entirely. Garcia initially experimented with brown paper packaging for baked goods, but found customers preferred transparent packaging for visibility.
Rather than abandoning environmental considerations entirely, she developed offsetting strategies through community reforestation. “I plant more trees,” she tells Sustainable Food Business. “I plant tree seedlings, fruit trees, and more. And if I have visitors, I’ll invite them to plant seedlings — for free. That’s my way of making up for having to use plastic products.”
Animal welfare practices integrated with sustainable farming
Huni Farm’s commitment to sustainability encompasses comprehensive animal welfare practices across multiple species. The operation maintains cage-free chickens and raises pigs in conditions that prioritize animal wellbeing while supporting the farm’s circular resource management system.
“It’s cage-free,” Garcia confirms about her chickens, explaining that native eggs are consistently in high demand. “We sell our native eggs directly to customers, and they’re always sold out. You’d have to call first to reserve them.” She adds, “We don’t utilize the conventional methods, where you give them the feed that will prompt them to lay more eggs,” contrasting their methods with industrial production systems.
For pig farming, Garcia has designed housing systems that prioritize animal comfort while maintaining practical functionality. “The hogs are not free roaming,” she explains. “They have a house, but it’s very different from the conventional way of farming. The floor is not made out of concrete, it’s still soil, and each hog enjoys a relatively big cubicle.”
This approach reflects Garcia’s broader philosophy about respecting animals within agricultural systems. “For me, you have to respect their life because they will sacrifice themselves for you to live,” she explains.
Nevertheless, the reality of running a commercially viable operation creates complexities in sourcing policies. While the farm produces cage-free native eggs for direct sale, Garcia acknowledges using conventional eggs for bakery products and restaurant preparations due to cost considerations and sizing requirements.
“Due to the limited capacity and small size of my native eggs, we use the conventional eggs for our cooked food and baked products,” she explains. “The farm is 100% organic, but I’m not able to maintain a 100% organic restaurant. It is very hard to do, and would be very expensive.”
Looking toward the future
Despite ongoing challenges, Garcia remains committed to her mission of demonstrating that sustainable agriculture can be both environmentally responsible and commercially viable. At 60 years old and maintaining good health without medication, she attributes her wellbeing to the farm’s produce and sustainable lifestyle practices.
“What is important to me is to contribute to a healthier society,” she reflects. “With Huni Farm, I hope we are able to keep doing that,” Garcia states, maintaining optimism about expanding their environmental impact.
